CityGrounds Coffee Bar

This has been an old, reliable favorite for us for years. Located in a residential street in Lincoln Park, it can be easy to miss.

They serve Metropolis coffee and baked goods and pastries sourced from local bakeries. If you’re hungry, they also have sandwiches. My all-time favorite is their cafe miel, and their apple turnover.

If you need a cafe that is big enough to host a large group, this is a great choice. You are spoiled for choice: they have an upstairs floor where mostly quiet people choose to work, there’s an area downstairs by the bar, where you can have an unhushed conversation and enjoy the music and the view of the park across the street, or you can sit at the patio outside.

Outlets are sprinkled in various places, there is free wi-fi, and you have a decent selection of tables and chairs, so it’s easy to find somewhere you can be comfortable.